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The Seven Valleys Writing Project (7VWP)

Writing changes how we think. It creates a deeper, more intimate, more powerful relationship with what we read, what we know, and what we teach. Our Writing Project site, linked to SUNY Cortland in Central New York, is run for teachers and by teachers. Our site (part of the state and national network of Writing Project sites) supports the teachers in our region by providing

Access to a local network of progressive teacher-colleagues, K-12;

Strategies for developing their own public voice and reflective practice;

High-quality professional development that incorporates teachers’ varied knowledge and interests in conjunction with school and community needs;

Reading, writing, and thinking experiences that prepare them to participate in and contribute to their communities;

Strategies for using the power of writing for authentic learning from kindergarten to college and all points in between.

7VWP believes that:

Writing is a powerful tool for learning and thinking in all content areas and for all age groups.

Writing can create thoughtful, collaborative communities.

Writing is powerful in many forms, lengths, genres, and media (in other words, in many forms besides the essay).

Excellent teachers are powerful teachers of their adult colleagues.

The best teachers of writing are those who write

Statistics show that teacher retention is strongly increased by National Writing Project participation. Furthermore, a recent study shows that “in every case the improvement of students taught by teachers who participated in NWP programs exceeded that of students whose teachers were not participants” (http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/resource/3208).